Scarlet Roses: Book Two of the NOLA Shifters Series

by Angel Nyx

  Emelise turned around to face him but she made no move to take the hand that was held out to her.

  “Dance wit' me,” he said again, watching her face. He saw the struggle in her eyes. She wanted him too, but she was a proud woman, she wasn't going to give in so easily. He liked that. He liked that his woman had a backbone. As Alpha, he needed someone who could stand at his side, not someone who would cower in the face of adversity.

  After a moment of hesitation her resolve seemed to crumble as she took the hand he held out to her. When she slipped her hand into his, Caine gave her a wicked smile and pulled her close. He kept hold on her hand and held it against his chest as his other arm snaked around her waist, pulling her flush against him. He heard her soft gasp and smirked. With her pressed against him there was no way she couldn't know that he wanted her. His cock throbbed with need but he wouldn't rush things with his mate. No, he wanted her to crave him as much as he craved her and he knew from the way she'd hesitated in taking his hand that she wasn't there. Yet. He held her close and lowered his head, burying his nose in her hair to breathe in her scent as they'd danced. Unfortunately, he didn't get to hold her as long as he wanted before Lily interrupted them and then she was gone, leaving her scent clinging to him.

  The celebration of the birth of Gage and Mia’s son lasted two days, which wasn’t uncommon for the Pard since Caine became Alpha. As a result, Caine had two very late nights in a row. Despite the late hour in which he’d finally gone to bed, Caine was up with the sunrise. He’d earned the money he put into rebuilding the Pard into one of financial strength and security by being an investor and as such he had to be up first thing in the morning to make sure things stayed on course. His chosen profession made it easier to run the Pard because he didn’t have to be gone every day. Later in the morning, he was at his desk in his study going over a recent acquisition when there was a knock on his front door. With a sigh he pushed away from his desk and went to answer it. “Mornin’ Remy. I’m surprised to see you’re up already.” Technically it was late morning but he knew Remy, the leopard was most likely up all night.

  “Yeah, well, some people don’t know how to be quiet around here,” Remy grumbled.

  Caine chuckled. “Dat is very true. Come on in. Dere’s coffee in da kitchen if you need a cup. What brings you by dis mornin’?”

  Remy followed him inside and went straight for the coffee pot. “I got a text from Lily. Seems your mate bought herself a bar dat needs some heavy cleaning and Lily asked if da Pard could help wit’ dat. I told her I’d send some of the boys over but I thought you’d want to know about it, too.”

  Caine cocked a brow. “Did she, now? I wonder what she’s plannin’ to do wit’ it. A’course we’ll help. Dat’s what we do, we help each other out wit’ tings dat need doin’.” This would give him the chance to see her in the sunlight. He wanted to really see the color of her eyes.

  “I’ll let her know some of da Pard is coming over. I ‘spect you don’t want her to know you’re gonna be dere, too, yeah?”

  Caine laughed. “No, I don’t want her to know. She might change her mind just because she’s fightin’ what’s between us.”

  Remy smirked. “Dat’s what I thought. I’ll let you know when dey’re ready to go,” he said and drained his cup of coffee before he rinsed the cup out and left.

  Caine went back to his study and quickly finished what he was doing so he would be ready to go when the others were. If his stubborn little mate thought she was going to get away from him this easily she had another think coming to her.

  Emelise

  Temperatures in New Orleans, in late Spring, weren’t that bad. According to the weather man, it was hovering at around 77 degrees outside, but inside the bar it was a good bit warmer. Emelise attributed that to the fact she didn’t have electricity to run fans to cool things down. As a result, within the first hour of cleanup, her clothes were already starting to stick to her. Strands of her hair had come loose from the braid she’d put it in and were clinging to her neck and face thanks to the sweat. What was worse was the sweat pooling between her breasts. She was really beginning to rethink her decision to not wait until after the electrical work was done before she started really trying to get the place cleaned up.

  Emelise was wiping sweat from her brow when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and glanced at the number. It wasn’t familiar to her but since it was a New Orleans number she opened it to find a text from Remy.

  Emelise, Lily told me about your little problem. Some of da Pard will be dere soon to help start da cleanup. Whatcha gonna do wit’ da place once dat’s done, cher?

  Eme read it and shook her head. Only a Cajun would type the same way they spoke. Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘Curiosity killed the cat’? Just kidding, I couldn’t help myself. In answer to your question, I’m opening my own jazz and blues club, which is why I bought an old bar. It’s on Decatur, used to be the Happy Fish Tavern. I’ll be here all day so whenever they get here is fine. She included the address in the text and hit send before she got back to work.

  She had an hour before Mike Barlow arrived to check out the brickwork for any damage that needed to be repaired. She debated on continuing working but decided she needed a short break and went down the street for some coffee and a danish.

  Caine

  When they pulled up outside the old bar to discover Emelise wasn’t there at the moment Caine figured she’d gone to get something to eat and would be back. “Might as well relax til she’s back,” he told the others and they settled in the back of the truck. All five males were recently out of high school but they’d not decided on what they wanted to do with their adult lives yet and this would keep them out of trouble. He leaned against the driver’s side door and kept his gaze moving, taking in the area and any possible dangers that might be present. He would not let his mate be at risk, he didn’t give a damn if she argued with him about it. Her safety was important to him.

  They’d been there about ten minutes when he saw her sauntering up the sidewalk with a bottle of water in one hand and a small bag in the other. He took in the way her jeans hugged her curves and sat low on her hips and her tank top gave little glimpses of her smooth stomach. At one point, he caught a glimpse of black ink and cocked his brow. His mate was tattooed? That little peek made him want to peel her shirt up slowly to reveal whatever it was she had etched into her skin.

  Caine lifted his gaze to her face just in time to see the flash of heat in her eyes before she forced a look of nonchalance. Oh, he was definitely going to enjoy getting under her skin and getting her to let herself go in his arms. The way she moved, he wanted to drag her off somewhere and kiss her breathless just to feel her body flush against his. Reign it in, she’s not ready for dat.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Caine smirked and let his gaze trail over her. “Come to check out da place my mate bought.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah, right, and I’m the Queen of England. You’re just here to give me a hard time.”

  “Oh, I’d like to give you someting dat’s hard, cher, but it isn’t time,” he replied with a husky growl. He definitely wanted to give her something hard. And thick. And long. He wasn’t a small man and he knew, given her petite size, it would be a very snug fit once he was inside her wet heat. The blush that heated her cheeks had made him hard and he’d had to bite back a groan. “If you’re here, you might as well come on in.”

  Caine locked gazes with her and nodded. “Lead da way, cher.”

  Once inside, he watched her even as he moved around the building. “Lily was right, dis place needs a major cleaning. But it looks solid, dat’s good.” He moved to the bar and ran a hand over it. “Have you found someone to restore dis? If not, I’ll let Gage know he’s needed. He’s da best woodworker in New Orleans. He and Remy have dere own carpentry and architecture business,” he told her when she gave him a quizzical look.

  “No, I haven’t. That was
the next thing on my list. I’ve already gotten an electrician in to take care of the wiring that needs to be replaced and I have a mason coming to check the brickwork in the walls to make sure it’s structurally sound. That would be awesome if Gage could do the woodwork once the other stuff is done.”

  “He’ll be glad to help a member of his family.”

  Eme blinked at him. “You know about that?”

  “A’course I know. Mia told me last night dat you two are cousins. Dat’s a story I’d like to hear about sometime. Where did you get da idea to open a club of your own?”

  “I’ve always loved blues and jazz and as soon as I was old enough I got a job at a club in Phoenix called The Inferno. I did a little singing from time to time, but mostly I tended bar and helped with the daily running of the club. I knew a month into working there that I wanted my own club one day.”

  “You are an impressive woman, Angel.”

  “Thanks, I try,” she said with a wink.

  He smirked at the wink and motioned to the pard members who’d come in. “Where do you want dem to start, cher?”

  “Oh, yeah, right. I’ve got cleaning supplies behind the bar. They can start wherever they want, really.” Within minutes they were spread out around the main area of the bar with gloves and cleaning supplies.

  Caine pitched in with the cleaning for a bit before he wandered up the stairs. “Whatcha gonna do wit’ da upstairs?” he asked when he came back down.

  “I’m not sure yet. I was considering either turning it into a couple of small rooms to rent out or turning it into one big apartment for me to live in. Why?”

  “You don’t need to live up dere, you can have a house built on da compound.”

  Emelise shook her head. “Not happening, so don’t even go there. Why were you asking about the upstairs?”

  “Well, I was tinkin’, you could have part of da ceiling between floors opened up so it looks down over da stage and ground floor and it could be a VIP section of da club.”

  Eme blinked at him. “Holy fuck, why didn’t I think of that? That’s a great idea. I’m sure it can be done, I just have to get a contractor in here to look at it and give me an idea of what it will cost to do it.”

  Caine laughed. “I do love your exuberance, Angel. I’m sure you would have thought of it given a little more time.” He watched her for a moment, and the pride he saw on her face as she worked to clean a thick layer of grime from the top of the bar made him smile. He wanted her to have this, even if she’d made the choice before she came there and they discovered they were mates. He could see how much she wanted to open her own club and he wanted to make that happen for her.

  “If you need any help financing da work to get dis place to where you want it to be, all you have to do is ask, Angel,” he told her as a knock on the door drew her attention away from him.

  Emelise

  Every time Emelise thought she had her wayward thoughts, and emotions, under control Caine said or did something else to throw her completely off. She’d not even considered turning the upstairs part of the building into a VIP section by opening up part of the ceiling so that half of it overlooked the ground floor. When he called her Angel it sent warmth through her. Other than her Mama calling her sweetheart sometimes, no one had ever really called her by an endearing pet name and she realized she liked it. She liked him calling her Angel. Fuck, I am in so much trouble. How was she supposed to keep him at arm’s length when he did things like that?

  The knock at the door was a welcome interruption before she said or did something she might later regret. “Saved by the knock,” she said under her breath and went to answer it. A dark haired man with broad shoulders and a solid build stood there, tool belt slung low on his hips. “You must be Mr. Barlow?”

  “Yes ma’am. Mike Barlow, at your service,” he said and offered his hand.

  “Emelise Rousseau,” she said with a smile and slipped her hand into his.

  “Pleasure, Miss Rousseau.” He held her hand a moment longer than was maybe necessary as his gaze moved over her briefly.

  “Please, come in,” she said and stepped back.

  “Seems you’ve got quite the cleanup crew in here,” Mike said once he followed her inside.

  “Yeah, don’t mind them. My best friend enlisted their help since the place needs some heavy cleaning and some minor repairs before I can start converting the space to the way I envision it.” She motioned to the walls. “As I told you on the phone, I really like the exposed brickwork so I’m hoping it’s sound enough to keep it.”

  “I’ll do a thorough check and let you know if there’s any structural damage,” he told her and headed for the closest wall.

  “Great, thanks so much,” Eme replied.

  Caine

  Caine stood off to the side just a little so he could see whoever was at the door without them really noticing him watching them. He watched as the man’s eyes trailed over Emelise’s body as if he had a right to look at her that way and his leopard snarled in his head. She was their mate, the human had no business looking at her like he wanted to undress her. It took every ounce of willpower Caine had to not go over to him and smash his face in with his fist. Who the fuck did he think he was?

  Caine kept his eyes on Emelise as she slipped her hand into the human’s and the way the man lingered made him want to rip his throat out. He needed to get a grip on his sudden flash of jealousy. He was an Alpha, he had better control than this. As soon as the other man walked away, Caine’s hand snaked out and curled around Emelise’s arm before he pulled her toward a corner away from the others.

  “What the hell?” Emelise gave him a startled look “What in the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “What’s wrong wit’ me, Angel, is I don’t like to see my mate flirtin’ wit’ other men,” Caine growled at her. “Dat little smile you gave him when you shook hands wit’ him wasn’t necessary.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Caine, I wasn’t flirting with him. I was being nice, something you clearly have no concept of. Besides, you don’t own me, Caine Bordeaux, so you can drop the possessive, controlling bullshit right the fuck now.”

  Her anger should have pissed him off but instead it just made him want her that much more. Her temper was a turn on because she had a backbone and wasn’t afraid to stand up to him. He liked that. “Maybe not, but you’re still my mate, like it or not, Angel, and I don’t share what’s mine,” he growled before he crashed his mouth down on hers. He was already tired of treading lightly with her when all he wanted to do was get her naked and make her scream his name while she orgasmed around his cock.

  Emelise

  Emelise was spitting mad when Caine pulled the neanderthal possessive, controlling shit as if she was his property. She wanted to hit him, or maybe dig her claws into him, to wipe the smirk off his face when she hissed at him and it did little to dissuade him of his attitude toward her. He was such an overbearing, arrogant jerk, who in the hell did he think he was? Just because his leopard was her leopard’s mate didn’t give him any right to try and control her.

  Eme saw the flash of something in his eyes seconds before his mouth crashed down on hers. She should have jerked away, she should have hit him, she should have done anything other than what she actually did, but her traitorous body responded to him in a way she’d never responded to a kiss. Instead of pulling away from him, she molded her body against his, a soft gasp escaping to be muffled by his lips at the feel of his erection pressing against her. Her fists gripped his shirt a moment before they let go and snaked up to wrap her arms around his neck. She gave herself over to the kiss and the heat it caused to course through her body.

  Any chance of denying the connection between them, the intense attraction they shared, disappeared the moment she gave herself over to his kiss. Moisture pooled between her thighs, heat flushed her skin, and her brain went on meltdown. There were no thoughts in her head, there was no room for them while he held her against his body.

  H
is hands were suddenly on her body and she lost all control of herself. Her own hands slipped beneath his shirt and, as her leg wrapped around his hip, tugging his erection closer to her, her nails raked down his back.

  Caine

  Caine was lost. That was all there was to it. He hadn’t expected Emelise to return his kiss with the same heat and passion but the moment their lips touched she responded to him with an intensity that was almost surprising. A growl escaped him and he pushed her against the wall as he deepened the kiss. Hunger tore through him when her arms wrapped around his neck to pull his mouth closer to hers.

  One hand slid beneath her shirt and moved up to cup her breast as he devoured her mouth. He completely forgot they weren’t alone. The only thing he could think about was how much he wanted to feel her skin and kiss every inch of her delectable body. He massaged her breast until her nipple stiffened then he pinched it lightly between his fingers.

  When Emelise wrapped her leg around him, tugging him closer, he lifted her just enough for his cock to press against her core. As her hands slid beneath his shirt he ground against her and was rewarded with the feel of her nails raking his skin. He moved to start working her shirt up to get it off just as someone cleared their throat.

  Reality came crashing down and Caine froze where he was. He broke the kiss and lifted his gaze to hers only to find her not looking at him. She looked embarrassed and he couldn’t blame her but it wasn’t her fault. “Sorry, Angel,” he murmured, voice ragged with need.

  Emelise

  Emelise was so caught up in the way his hands felt on her body and the need raging through her that she’d completely forgotten that there were others in the room. Just when she was on the verge of begging him to just fuck her against the wall, someone cleared their throat. The sound broke through the haze of lust and drowned it faster than a dunk in the Arctic Ocean would have.